The tail Flick test measures spinal nociception and it is based on the sensitivity of the animal to increasing temperature. This test is commonly used in a preliminary phenotyping battery for transgenic mouse models.

Test specifics: The animal is enclosed in a polypropylene tube with an opening through which its tail is exposed. The tail region is exposed to a heat light source and the time the animal takes to move its tail away from the heat source measured.

This test is widely used to determine supraspinal nociception and is also commonly used as preliminary pain sensitivity test in transgenic phenotyping batteries. It is also a widely used and particularly sensitive to the effects of pain-relieving drugs.

Test Specifics: The animal is placed on an apparatus where temperature is gradually increased from 42°C up to 49°C and the time taken by the animal to lift its hind paws from the surface is measured.

This test is a commonly used test to determine somatosensory dysfunction following cerebral ischemia in rodents (rats).

Test Specifics: A round adhesive label is placed on each limb and the time required to remove the label from each forelimb is recorded.

This test is visual perception test commonly used test to determine visual acuity in rodents.

Test Specifics: The rodent is placed on a elevated bar at the edge of a “cliff”. The cliff perception is made by placing a plexiglass plate surface over a box with one near half (plate right above the surface) and a far side (plate farther above the bottom of the box).

This test is an adaptation of the visual water maze to test visual acuity in rodent.

Test Specifics: In this test 4-6 lights are placed in the surrounding of the pool and turned on in a random fashion, one at a time. A platform is found right in line with the location of the light being turned on. The rodent is trained to find a platform based on associating the on light with the platform. The animals need to be able to see the light to be able to learn the task.

NOTE- Traditional visual water maze is also offered. In this test, all distant visual cues are blocked and the platform made visible. The platform is moved to random locations in the pool and rodent associates the platform with the escape from the water.

We offer various simple tests to phenotype olfactory function in rodents

Test Specifics: Tests are based on presenting rodent with attractive smells such as “tasty” food hidden under the bedding, rodent smell impregnated objects or a Q-tip soaked with an “attractive” extract smell. If the rodent is able to smell it will focus its attention the the attractive/novel smell. Discrimination can be carried out by presentation of one smell stimulus followed by a novel smell stimulus.

Acoustic startle and pre-pulse inhibition are tests used to determine both, emotional reactivity and sensory gating as well as hearing function (Willott et al., 2003). Specific protocols tailored to measure hearing function are used.